Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-06-25
TIE GOOD OLD DAYS.
"REMINISCENCES OF APPLE BUTTER MAKING AND FLANNEL KICKING"


 Two Popular Customs which Prevailed
 Among the Settlers Away Baek-ho"
 tb. Apple Butter was Madc-Fulling
 the Home 3Iade Flannel.
 ssI have seen many newspaper accounts recently of customs that prevailed among The settlers away back, all of them born of necessity. But there were two thaS ureyailed in CushOCton. the county lH which I was raised, in the great old state of Ohio. that seems tO have been OvT- looked or probably entirely iorgOtteH. One of them was apple butter boiling ana thc other was flannel kicking. Talk about the fun they had at apple cuttings, corn Luskings, quiltings. etc, but for genuine, uuroarious fun flannel kicking would knock them all out i'm one round. Every new house had its old one, which was leit standing generally in close proximity 10 the new, which was used for all manner of purposes. The old fsshione loom, which almost every thrifty farmer pos sessed. was set up there. The big broad fireplace, : or feet wide, with it's big .rlne on which tO hang heavy kettles and pots. was always in order and was used when boiling the apple butter, large copper kettle always being used for the uurposc. But few families could afford .he lnxury Oi large copper ket le, cOnse- tuently one served large ueighbOrhood, roing the rounds every apple butter sea 21n.
 BOILING APPLE BUTTER.
 ..'Ths log house was usually but one ArNe room. It took two couples Co boil -H fell. heir best girls It required constant stir ling. which was usually done with board about : inches wide by About ? fee: long, with holes borrd through it and a handle about feet long, Q, .t..r The fellow and his t,s -.rl could .auI-, .r easily While they stirred the Cher cJapie were having a most delight su! time of fin one corner of the room, sherc being no light except Glin, relig .lus one from the fire. or course they changed places quite frequently, for the couple at the handle could Lut endure that kind of thing for any length of time, knowing wEa, high old time the other couple were having away of iu the cor ner. They were being deprived ot the.r opportunities. This thing usually lasted all night. and as a rule the little party were not interrupted by medC.crs. and they had a blissful season free from the rude gaze of any one.
 'But the crOwning glory, the boss fun, was the flannel kicking As have before stated. almost every old house had lt> loom. on which the women wove fiannels -lnSey wOolsey. casiuets and linen ] sigh for the days when ] used Go wear tl.s home made linen. Pillow Slips. sheets shirts. pants and short tailed roUulaboUts
 
 There were no long tailed summer coats h those days. This linen was stout. and if a boy ur even a good sized man caught the seat of his pants on 30 sglinter in climb inga rail fence OrOu uuHil he hung there ], would hold him every time.
 "Thc flannel was usually woven in webs. or pieces of go or 70 yards and of course it had tO be fuIled before it was in proper condition Co be made up into gar meutS. Pulling mills were thing almost unheard Of in that country at that time, and some way must ie devised to thicken mp or full the flannel, and they did it to perfection. ? have attended many a "kickiu-." !" and say recollection uf them is as vivid G, if It had occurred but a year ago.
 A FLANNEL KICKING.
 .'Thc boys and girls of the ueighhor- hO0d-which took iu a range of several uiIe~-were notified that on certain eveuin. they were going Co hayea flannel kicking and ,, needed u0 urging tO gather iu enough to make Upa party. The flannel was placed iU So loose pile in the middle Of the iioOr-u.ualiy in that same old log hoUse-CEair~ were plHCed around It. forming g complete circle. The boys and girls filled ;lc chairs. and then blow | line or rope was passed around the oUt- l side of the chairs. drawn through the l backs. tohold them in positioh. CfcOurse l the performers all faced toward the fan. mel The boys. with their truwsers rolled l uu above their knees: and the girls-well, l the girls iu those days were not .UCUm- bercd with us much tOEgery as they wear'' now.
 ''SOapsuds-as hot as the operators 1 could possibly bear it-was then poured 1 on the flannel. and then the fun com mcuced in dead earnest. every one kick | ing the pile of flannel for dear life-the boys laughing and yelling. the girls l screaming. and the SOap>ud~ spirtiug up and out in reckless prpdiGality. When the studs became absorbed and began tG cool more hot studs were poured on, and | then fresh outbur>t 0t kicking and spirit ing, laughing and screaming began, their | feet and legs looking as Ted as boiled lob | stcrs.
 This usually lasted about three hours. the old folks pouring on tLe hot soapsuds | and looking and enjoying tEe thing about ss muck as the younger ones. ltwas rare 1 fun, and ,Ee writer of this article remem- | bers it better than almost anything else in lhe way of parties in hi, young days. Of | course the work was not SO we'll done as ii .s done nowadays in the mills, but it answered the purpose. and everybody WAS satisfied with it. Alias for the days that will never come back. the days when all ! these customs, prevailed in COshOctou l county '-' WEihaudmg' iI Chicago l 1 Tribune